It was late in the day, so his disciples came to Jesus. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the crowd of people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
“How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand. - Mark 6:35-44
Dear Jesus,
It's not natural for me to ever expect a miracle or a very timely rescue from you. Most often, I am overwhelmed by the reality of the limitations in my life. I see what's needed to make things work and my first reaction is to worry and then to take the responsibility to fix it. It's unbearable at times. I see from this grand story from your life that you joyfully put me in difficult places so I need you to be my God and provider. I want my first reaction to be prayer and expectation and then responsible action. Help me to penetrate my own cyclical thoughts with faith filled prayers that leave room for you to show your love for me. It's your glory to love and be known for it. Help me to remember to pray with a believing heart and to respond to your rescue with thanksgiving.
Pastor Don Patterson
God never said he would not give us more than WE can handle. He said, he would not give us more than HE can handle.
